5 Arrested in Alleged Plot to Blow Up Cleveland-Area Bridge

CLEVELAND (WKYC) -- The FBI says five people have been arrested in a plot to blow up a Cleveland area bridge.

According to a written release, Douglas L. Wright, 26, Brandon L. Baxter, 20, and Anthony Hayne, 35, were arrested by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force on April 30 on charges of conspiracy and attempted use of explosive materials to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce.

The three are self-proclaimed anarchists, according to the FBI.

Charges against two other men, Connor C. Stevens, 20, and Joshua S. Stafford, 23, are pending.

The arrests came as part of an FBI sting and federal officials say, "There was never any danger."

The FBI says the explosive devices were in the control of an undercover FBI agent. The five were under close surveillance. The explosives the group allegedly purchased and allegedly attempted to use were inoperable.

The FBI says Wright, Baxter and Hayne formed into a group and considered a series of evolving plots over several months.

An initial plot involved using smoke grenades to distract police in order for co-conspirators to topple the signs of financial institutions on high rise buildings in downtown Cleveland.

The FBI says the plot is not tied to the one year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. It says those arrested do not have ties to international terrorism.